Athletes Who Showed What It Means To Be A Champion

I’ve always wondered what it must be like to win a championship. Haven’t you? I’m not talking about you beer league trophy, I mean a real professional sports title. How does it feel? What are the parties like? What do players do when it’s their turn with the trophy? These are all things I have asked myself but have yet to find concrete answers to. Perhaps what we’re looking for is hidden somewhere in this list of championship celebrations. There’s only one way to find out.

Shirtless J.R.

For what felt like an entire week, the Cavaliers shooting guard celebrated the team’s championship win without a shit on. He drew a lot of attention from media for taking part in the Cavs victory parade shirtless. Even President Obama commented. The above video is of J.R. partying without a shirt on in Vegas before the team returned home to Cleveland.

Pass it around

A post shared by @somebodyisalwayswatching on Apr 29, 2017 at 11:30pm PDT

Cubs general manager Theo Epstein is a huge fan of the band Pearl Jam. So when the Cubs finally broke the curse in 2016, Epstein brought the World Series trophy to a concert put on by his foundation where he was on stage with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder passing around the Commissioner’s Trophy to fans.

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Bling Bling

While it’s hard to put any one Championship win over another, I think it’s fair to say Tom Brady’s fifth Super Bowl win was his biggest, not only because of what he had to do to get it, but also because it meant he’d have a ring for every finger.

Get it, get it

I always thought kissing the championship trophy was not only allowed but encouraged. It’s just one of those sports nuances that has lasted through the ages. Licking it is a whole nother story. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that. I know players have become intimate with the Championship trophies, I’d just rather not see it.